The Rest is Just Details
By Wildirish
Disclaimer: Revolution is not mine. I'm pretty sure it's up for grabs now.
A/N: This is a little one-shot follow-up in the same universe as the story "Love Remains the Same" that I posted on New Years' Eve. It's nothing fancy and by far the shortest thing I've ever written. I wrote and edited it in about thirty minutes after getting an email from LemonSupreme. This is for her.
Brown cardboard boxes littered much of the free space in the living room and down the hallway into the bedroom. Their bedroom, Bass thought with a mixture of pleasure and fear. Several months after their wondrous New Year's Eve together, Bass had taken a big step and asked Charlie to move in with him. She was busy working and finishing her degree; he was busy running his own business. It left them precious little time to find ways to be together. Having to run back and forth between places always cut in on the time they spent together. Bass wanted to spend as much time with Charlie as possible.
He was hoping for a lifetime.
Asking her to move in was the first step in that. He didn't want to rush or scare her. He thought he'd ease her into it and eventually the little black velvet box currently nestled in his sock drawer would come out and he would have the pleasure of putting the diamond on her finger. He'd thought about giving her his mother's diamond but decided that Charlie and he needed to be about more than the past, they needed to keep moving forward into a future that was constantly changing. Therefore he'd gone out hunting until he found the perfect ring for her.
Bass hadn't lived with someone since Shelley. Nerves were piercing his insides. It had been such a long time but he loved Charlie. He wanted this to work. A part of him would constantly worry that one day their age difference would begin to bother her. But she never seemed to show any issue with it. She never shied away from showing him affection in public.
"Hey, Bass, have you seen the box with my books? I want to set up my bookcase," Charlie called out from down the hall.
"I think it's in the hallway, babe," Bass called back. He was leaning against the kitchen counter sipping a beer. They'd moved most of the stuff yesterday with the help of Bass, Danny and Rachel. Today they'd finished up the last few boxes in her apartment together. They'd spent the night before camped out on her apartment floor for the last time.
He heard her feet shuffling down the hallway and smiled. He was going to hear that sound every day now. Maybe one day they'd even add the little pitter patter of baby's feet to it. The idea was a combination thrill and terror; the idea of having a family with Charlie fulfilled something that had been achingly missing from his life. He hadn't given much thought to having a family since Shelley until Charlie. She's the only one he's wished to have that with. Even with Shelley, he hadn't wished so much as landed in it. Then lost it. That was where the terror came from: The thought that something could happen to Charlie and he could lose her like that. He'd never survive it again.
The hand holding the beer trembled and he put the bottle down on the counter before he dropped it.
"Crapping out on me already?" Charlie said teasingly as she came around the corner into the kitchen.
"Yeah, us old folks tire a lot quicker," Bass replied.
Charlie shook her head and then grabbed his beer to take her own drink. "Liar. You have incredible endurance and an excellent rebound rate," she said cheekily and wiggled her eyebrows in mock seduction.
He couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't wrong though. They were excellent in bed together. He pulled her close to him so he could taste her. He just could never get enough of her. Never wanted to.
"I'm starved," she said after they finally pulled apart for needed air.
"Oh yeah?" He gave a cocky grin.
"Not that," Charlie said and squinted her eyes. "I mean I'm absolutely going to die if I don't eat."
"I told you we should have gone to the diner and had breakfast," Bass reminded her.
"I know but I just wanted to finish moving the boxes," Charlie said. "I didn't want any more limbo. I wanted to be all here. Final."
Her words warmed his heart. He was still so worried about how they would manage to meld their two lives together. This was serious for both of them. In his heart of hearts, he knew that Charlie felt like he did, that they were it. There was no one else after each other. Still they were going to be combining two different lives—lives that were at essentially different places on the continuum—and there were bound to be some bumpy roads. They'd already had a few rather nasty fights that he didn't care to relive.
"How about we get some shoes on and head down to the deli on the corner?" Bass suggested. "We'll get a couple grinders and cups of soup."
"Sounds heavenly," Charlie agreed. "But what about all these boxes?"
"Unless you plan on moving out after just moving in, the boxes will still be here when we get back," Bass told her.
"I know. But I hate leaving your apartment in such disarray," Charlie admitted.
"Our apartment is full of our stuff, Charlie," Bass corrected her. "Just the way I like it. The rest is just details. Let's get some lunch."
He gave her a quick, searing kiss and then left to grab some shoes and a light jacket. When he returned to the kitchen he saw that she'd pulled out a jacket and a pair of sneakers from one of the many boxes and had already dressed. "Hey Bass?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"I love you."
Bass grabbed her hand, kissed it and held it as they closed and locked their apartment together. "I love you too, Charlotte."
-Fin-
LemonSupreme is one of the nicest, most supportive people in this fandom and she is a Captain of this 'Ship. She's also been having a really tough time lately and I wanted to do something sweet and fluffy to make her feel better (and to make up for the dark turn Poison & Wine has taken that she's not too crazy about).
I hope this worked, Lemon. Feel better my friend!